Geographic Range

Habitat

Mostly, musk deer inhabit the middle altitudes of montane taiga (usually not found above 1600m). In the winter, they are attracted to relatively steep slopes covered with coniferous forests. Favorite habitats are sections with rock outcrops, which provide shelter from predators. In the summer, most of their time is spent in valleys of forest rivers, around streams, and near fields with good grassy vegatation (e.g., where coniferous taiga alternates with mixed deciduous forest). They avoid marshy forests.

Physical Description

Differ sharply from other deer. Long well-muscled hind legs; shorter, weaker, thin forelimbs; chest usually small; back highly arched back, so that the animal is much higher at the sacrum than at the shoulders. This body structure correlates with the animal's usual pattern of movement, a series of well coordinated jumps generated from the hind legs.
Males weigh slightly less than females. Neither sex has antlers. The male has fine and extremely sharp canines protruding directly downward from the mouth. In older males, canine tips extend considerably below the lower jaw.

Age-related changes in hair coat and colorings: new-borns have short, dark brown, soft hair, densely covered with yellowish or white spots. By the second winter, young molt into their winter coat, which consists of coarse hair typical of an adult. The spots become less defined or absent.

Reproduction

Estrus occurs in December usually lasts for three to four weeks. The gestation period is 185-195 days and there is no latent stage of embryonic development. Females deliver one fawn or rarely two. Fawning occurs in secluded places such as beneath dense shrubs, under low branches of fir, or around fallen trees. Strangely, up to 1/3 of adult females remain barren every year. Fawns stay with their mothers for up to two years (two winters).

Behavior

Active at twilight or at night. They are shy and furtive animals. They are much less active in heavy snowfall. Musk deer usually live singly or in groups of two or three (a mother and her young). Musk deer migrate from the steep mountain slopes they occupy in the winter to their summer range in grassy meadows found near mountain river valleys. Vision and hearing are thought to be keen, and sense of smell poor. A musk pouch (located between the sex organs and the navel) releases a scent that is believed to be a signal to attract a mate.

Communication and Perception

Food Habits

Over 130 plant species are consumed by musk deer. In the winter, arboreal lichens and some terrestrial bushy lichens make up about 70% of the contents of a musk deer's stomach (by weight). Musk deer also eat young shoots, coniferous needles, leaves, buds, and bark of mountain ash, aspens, maple, willow, bird cherry , and honeysuckle. In the summer, herbaceous plants are the main diet. These include buckwheat, geranium, some grasses, and spirea.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Musk deer are caught mainly for musk ("musk deer perfume"), present only in the males. Musk is secreted by a saccate gland located between the sex organs and the naval. In the past, musk was used in medicine in Europe and the East. The use of musk as a natural perfume base (used in preparing high quality scents) was discovered later. When this happened, the use of musk in perfume boomed. In Nepal in 1972, for example, an ounce of musk was worth more than an ounce of gold.

Conservation Status

The musk deer has long been hunted for its prized "musk pouch." In 1855, around 81,200 sacs were exported from Russia to China through Kyakhta, and a few years later, Japan imported over 100,000 sacs in a single year. The musk deer population diminished greatly, and in 1927, only 5,089 sacs were collected. This lead to the classification of the animal as endangered by the USDI (1980). The musk deer also appears in Appendix 1 of CITES.

Other Comments

The main predators of the musk deer (other than man), are the lynx, wolverine, and the yellow-throated marten. In one study, done in the mountains, musk deer remains were found in 43% of the feces of lynx.

Contributors

Jeremy Mulder (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

mountains

This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

taiga

Coniferous or boreal forest, located in a band across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. This terrestrial biome also occurs at high elevations. Long, cold winters and short, wet summers. Few species of trees are present; these are primarily conifers that grow in dense stands with little undergrowth. Some deciduous trees also may be present.

Disclaimer:
The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

This material is based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation
Grants DRL 0089283, DRL 0628151, DUE 0633095, DRL 0918590, and DUE 1122742. Additional support has come from the Marisla Foundation, UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Museum of Zoology, and Information and Technology Services.